Abstract
Bovine diarrhea is a multi-factorial disease and remains one of the biggest health problems in animal husbandry. The endemic trends of the main pathogens responsible for bovine diarrhea in Inner Mongolia have not been analyzed systematically before. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of bovine diarrhea pathogens found in the scattered households of Inner Mongolia in China. Additionally, we assessed for differences in the prevalence of infection based on age and region, as well as determined local prevalence rates and the rates of mixed infections. Using a two-stage random sampling strategy, 3,050 serum samples were collected from 72 bovine herds in 11 leagues and cities in Inner Mongolia, and the positive rates of BVDV, BRV, BCoV, K99, and Mycobacterium paratuberculosis (M. paratuberculosis) antibodies in the samples were detected by ELISA to determine the epidemic trends and epidemic differences of the five pathogens in Inner Mongolia. The positive rates of antibodies based on serum samples were: BVDV, 18.79% (95% CI [17.44-20.22]); BRV, 12.39% (95% CI [11.27-13.61]); BCoV, 12.82% (95% CI [11.68-14.05]); K99, 13.80% (95% CI [12.62-15.07]); and M. paratuberculosis, 10.79% (95% CI [9.74-11.94]). The prevalence rates of BRV, BCoV and K99 at 0-2 months were significantly different from that at 2-6 months, 6-18 months and adult cattle (P < 0.05). The prevalence of BVDV and M. paratuberculosis was the highest in adult cattle, which was significantly different from that in other age groups (P < 0.05). Furthermore, obvious regional epidemiological differences among the five diseases were observed. There was a mixed infection of BRV+BCoV in each age stage, the highest mixed infection being BVDV+BRV+K99 at 0-2 months of age. Our results showed that the cattle of scattered households in the Inner Mongolia of China were endemicly infected with several important cattle pathogens. Most of the pathogens studied occurred between 0-2 months of age and were mixed infections, which greatly influences the health of the cattle and leads to economic loss. These findings are of practical significance for the future prevention and control of bovine diarrhea in the Inner Mongolia or other regions of China.